Name and age: rachel 30Location: chicago area illinoisWhere did you get your crafting start? i've been crafting forever i thinkKid names and ages: no kids, i work daycare and have kids that range in age from 5-12What sort of crafts are you and your kids interested in: anything, they love craftingWhat have you been working on lately: going to be starting holiday decoratingAnything else we should know: i'm constantly looking for ideas for stuff to do with my kids that is cheap and funAn example of your craftiness and/or a picture of you/your kiddo: i'll link to my crafts album on picassa, nothing that i've done with the kids though

It's pretty simple and can be done by just about anyone old enough to hold onto a paintbrush and/or handle some safety scissors.

SUPPLIES:Newspaper to cover your work spaceContruction paper: brown, orange, red, yellow, any other autumn colors you want.PaintbrushesPaint Pallette or paper platePaint: can be any kind, I used acrylic.Rinse cup with waterGlue or tapeScissors

INSTRUCTIONS:Cover your work space in newspaper.Put a small amount of a variety of colors on your paper plate or paint pallette.Get your paint supplies together - water in rinse cup, brushes together (and a rag to wipe them dry after rinsing them is helpful as well), etc...

bodyTake a brown piece of construction paper (a brown paper bag would work well also) and fold it in half. Cut a half circle on the seam so when you open it, it's a circle/oval. This is the body of your turkey.

Cut a strip of about 2 inches long, 1 inch wide out of the same brown paper. This is your turkey neck.

Cut a smaller circle/oval out of the scraps of the same brown paper. This is your turkey head.

Tape or Glue your turkey head to the neck, the neck to the body and set it aside. You won't need it again until later.

Once the glue is dry, you'll return to the body of the turkey and paint a face, wings, feathers, anything you want. Let it dry.

feathersTake a small selection of colored construction paper (I used red, yellow, orange and white) and paint them with the many colors of paint. The more random and abstract the painting, the better. You don't want faces and designs because you'll be cutting these once they're dry.

Set them aside and let them dry REALLY well before you cut them or you'll have paint on your scissors.

Once your painting is completely dry, cut out feather shapes. To make this job easier, I cut the pages into strips and then stacked them, and cut the feather shapes out of the whole stack of 5 or 6 at a time. This helps them stay uniform.

constructionNow that your feathers are cut out and your turkey is painted, you can arrange the feathers behind the turkey in any order you like. Use as many or as little as you like. Once they're all in place, glue or tape them down and let it dry.

feetFeet aren't necessary. If you don't use them, your turkey will simply be in a roosting or sitting position, but if you want feet, take a yellow "feather" and cut it down the middle (legs) and cut the point off and glue it to the legs. Then glue the legs on. Let it dry.

USEYou can tape your turkey to your door, put it on the fridge, or you can make multiples, string them with yarn or thread and hang them from your cieling, chandelier, etc...

Process:gently crack a walnut, split it directly down the middle (this takes a little practice, so be prepared to munch a few), remove the meat of the nut, clean out anything left inside.

If you've washed the shell, let it dry. Then create a loop with whatever supply you prefer (the ones in my pictures used picture hanging wire because it's what I had at the moment. I don't recommend that since it's so thick, but jewelry or craft wire would be fine. Even an ornament hook from the holidays would be great.

Once your loop or hook is in place, use glue and stick the walnut back together (I used Elmers) and rubberband it together so it holds tight. This step is optional... just make sure it's got a good bond.

Once the walnuts are securely back together, decorate your new ornaments however you want to.

I did this craft with my parents when I was a child and we still have one left. I did this craft with my daughter and husband 2 years ago and plan on doing it again when she's older.

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Miss Lily made this mug for her Nana's birthday. She colored the pictures, I cut them out and pasted them in, I printed off the picture of Nana and Lily making faces together and did the "instructions for use" for humor. The mug cost 87 cents at Hobby Lobby. We filled it with candies and mailed it.

It says: Instructions for Use: Pour in your favorite tasty drink. Hide a secret stash of candy. Use as a holder for pens, pencils, keep track of random trinkets or the marbles you've slowly been losing over the years (thanks to your kids) and enjoy. Note: Handwash only--Not microwave or dishwasher safe. Not to be hurled at the heads of loved ones (or those who only think they're loved). PS. Happy birthday.

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The community has been up and running for 3 days. We've already got 23 members, myself included. I think that's great, personally.

But what I'd like from all of you is maybe a little intro.

Name and age:Location:Where did you get your crafting start?Kid names and ages:What sort of crafts are you and your kids interested in:What have you been working on lately:Anything else we should know:An example of your craftiness and/or a picture of you/your kiddo:

And now it's your turn. I'm looking forward to getting to know you all and seeing your intro posts. (and please, when you post them, use the "introductions" tag so any new members can check them out too).

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Looking for a gift that costs next-to-nothing but is more personalized than a perfume sampler? Need a quick and easy idea for your Secret Santa or office friend? I've got the answer for you! Home-made ornaments! And of course, the kids can do it too!!

All you need is this: 1 cup of ground cinnamon, 1 cup of storebought applesauce, a large bowl, mixer, roller, cookie cutters, parchment paper a couple hours for bake time and decorations.

Sure, it sounds like a lot, but it's not so bad. Really.

Process: Pour 2/3 cup of applesauce into large bowl. Slowly add in cinnamon with the mixer. Mix well until crumbly. Add last 1/3 of applesauce into mixture by hand to bring it all back together. This will make it wet enough to roll out without falling apart.

On parchment paper, countertop or any hard surface, sprinkle a small amount of cinnamon (and put some on the roller as well) and roll out batter to 1/2 to 1/4 inch thickness. Use cookie cutters and cut out shapes. (I've also used autumn leaf shaped cutters and they make great Fall decorations that smell wonderful!)

Place finished shapes onto parchment paper lined cookie baking sheet. Preheat oven to 200 degrees (if your oven runs a little hot or a little cold, modify the temperature by 15 degrees either way). While oven is preheating, gather up the scraps of batter, press together again and roll it out again. Continue this process until you have no batter left.

Gently etch designs into the ornaments using toothpicks or any other item you wish (I used a pie crust cutter). Poke a hole large enough to accomodate a ribbon, hook or any other type of hanging device.

Place the cookie sheet with ornaments into the oven and let them bake for 2 hours or until they are dry and hard. (After 2 hours, if they're still somewhat pliable, flip them over to expose the back. Bake one hour extra.) Remove ornaments from the oven and cool completely (half an hour is a good measure).

Once ornaments are cool to the touch, decorate with glitter, paint them, or leave them plain.

the point is this: they're inexpensive, easy, fun to make and they smell wonderful, last a long time (and they don't draw bugs) and it's a personalized gift from you to whoever you decide to bestow them on.

This one was done by my daughter, 1.5 years old at the time. She's 3.5 now and is already excited about whatever we decide to make this year.

Any ideas??!

the end. What do you think?

Let me know if you decide to do this because I'd like to know how it worked out for someone else. I had some slight difficulty with the first batch because I ran out of cinnamon and then I mixed it by hand (and it hurt) and then I rolled it out on wax paper (not recommended) and it STUCK to the paper when I was trying to pull them up... but in the end, I may have mastered the technique.